Oklahoma state senator to resign after child prostitution charges

An Oklahoma state senator charged with hiring a teenage boy as a prostitute intends to resign as a lawmaker by Wednesday, the senator’s lawyer said on Tuesday.

The state’s top Republicans called on Republican Senator Ralph Shortey, 35, to resign last week after he was charged with three felony counts, including engaging in child prostitution.

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Attorney Ed Blau said in a telephone interview he advised Shortey to resign and his client agreed. Shortey, who has served since 2010, has not spoken to media about the incident, and Blau said he had not issued a statement.

Shortey, a gun rights advocate who has campaigned as a champion of family values, was found by police earlier this month in a suburban Oklahoma City motel with the 17-year-old boy, who was not named in court documents.

“Officers present observed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the room and inside the room at the time of their contact with the defendant,” an arrest affidavit said, adding police also found an opened box of condoms in Shortey’s backpack.

Before he was charged by prosecutors, Shortey was sanctioned by the Republican-dominated state Senate last week on a 43-0 vote for “disorderly behavior.”

The sanctions imposed penalties such as stripping him of his office space, removing him from committee positions and canceling his reserved parking space.